


Together, For the Last Time

by Calvatron



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-10-28 15:53:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17790320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calvatron/pseuds/Calvatron
Summary: "Not letting go of you. Never again"





	1. Together, for the Last Time

“Run!” Percy shouted. His face was illuminated by the dull glow of Riptide as he held it before him, almost giving him the appearance of a ghost. His expression was grimmer than any of his friends had ever seen.

Grover’s expression made it clear he didn’t like it, but he nodded and gestured to the half-bloods they had been guiding to camp to follow him. He looked back one last time at Percy. “Dude,” he said. 

Percy met his gaze and nodded, managing to crack a sad grin. “I’ll hold the monsters.”

Grover looked like he was going to cry, but turned anyway and vanished into the woods, the half-bloods joining him.  
That left only Annabeth watching him. 

“Go,” Percy said, glancing back at the approaching horde of monsters, “I’ll be able to hold them for a few seconds, but-“

“Then together we can hold them for a few more,” Annabeth said, drawing her knife.

“Annabeth, I can’t ask you to…” Percy’s voice trailed off. He wasn’t surprised to find he had trouble voicing that particular fear.

“Then it’s a good thing I’m offering.”

Percy’s eyes stared into hers, desperately searching for any signs of doubt, anything he could use to convince her to run. Seeing none, he sighed. “Alright then… Together.”

“I told you, Seaweed Brain, you’re never getting away from me again.” 

Percy smiled grimly at the phrase. “Then, Wise Girl… I guess I’ll see you in… in Elysium.” His voice cracked as he said it. 

Somehow Annabeth matched his smile. “Bold of you to assume you’re not headed to the Fields of Punishment.”

The joke caught Percy by surprise, and he chuckled, despite the dire circumstances. Another glance at the encroaching monsters, and he knew they were out of time. His eyes met Annabeth’s one last time. 

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

And they charged into battle. 

Together, one last time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, first off, I'm sorry. Second of all, if you enjoyed this fic, please leave a like and a comment, and if you didn't, I suppose a comment would suffice, letting me know what you think I could've done better. It's my first time writing Percabeth, and I really do want to write more with them at some point cause they're just great.


	2. Alone, for the First Time: Percy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I did not intend on writing a second chapter. That was not something I planned to do at all. But I had an idea, and I was procrastinating another thing, so I decided to twist the knife just a little further. Enjoy!

Percy awoke with a start. He glanced around at the room he was in. It was the Big House’s infirmary. He had been here many times before, but something felt off this time. He couldn’t help but feel like he was forgetting something. Something important. He rubbed his forehead, trying to coax the memory out of the recesses of his mind, but found it wouldn’t come.

It was then that he realized how much he hurt. Pain coursed through his body. Muscles, joints, bones, everything aching at once, fighting for which made him most miserable. He thought he was about to pass out again when Chiron trotted in. For a moment, Percy thought he saw a look of panic flicker across the centaur’s weathered features, but it was gone so quickly he chalked it up to a trick of the light.

“Chiron? What happened?” Percy asked.

“You… don’t remember?” Chiron said, his voice edged with trepidation.

Percy shook his head. “I just remember me and Annabeth going to help Grover escort some kids to camp. Then nothing.”

“I see… Percy, there’s…” Chiron’s voice broke. “There’s something you should know.”

Something clicked inside Percy’s head. “Wait, there was a fight. I told Annabeth to go, but she…” his heart felt like a stone in his chest as memories started falling into place.

Chiron looked away, his expression stormy.

“Chiron, where’s Annabeth?”

Chiron said nothing, a sole tear trailing down his cheek.

“Where is she?!” Percy asked again, desperately. 

“The Apollo cabin tried everything they could, Percy, but… some wounds are too deep to heal,” Chiron said, “I’m so sorry.”

“No, no, no,” Percy said. He lowered his head into his hands as he tried to process this. Annabeth. Gone. It seemed impossible. “I told her to run, why didn’t she run?”

Chiron gingerly rested a hand on Percy’s shoulder. “Because,” he said, hesitantly. “She could not leave you to die, Percy.” His voice was almost impossibly soft.

Percy looked up at Chiron, a sob welling up in his throat. “Chiron, what do I do now?”

“The only thing you can do to honor her, Percy. Live.” Chiron said, his expression sympathetic. It occurred to Percy that his mentor had had to do this hundreds, if not thousands of times. “I shall leave you now, to rest.”

Chiron trotted towards the door.

“Chiron?” Percy said. “The campers… did they make it?”

Chiron smiled sadly as he nodded. “Yes Percy, Grover and those young demigods made it here safe and sound. Annabeth’s de- her choice was not in vain. Now, rest, please. You almost died yourself, and I fear Will Solace may have been a little overzealous with the ambrosia.” He left, ducking under the doorframe.

Percy fell against his pillow, staring up at the ceiling despondently. Eventually, a restless sleep claimed him.


	3. Alone for the First Time: Annabeth

Annabeth twisted Riptide’s pen form in her hand absentmindedly as she stared blankly ahead at the wall of the Athena cabin. Clutched tight in her other hand was Percy’s camp necklace. The other Athena kids gave her  a wide berth, decidedly looking everywhere but at her.

There was a knock on the cabin door. One of the other Athena campers opened it and let Grover in. He was holding a small bowl of food.

“Annabeth,” he said. “it’s been days. You need to eat.”

She grunted, which Grover took as a sign of agreement, and he placed the bowl of food beside her on her bed. He sat down beside her.

“I uh, I talked to Nico. He’s seen him. They… talked.”

Annabeth didn’t respond.

“According to Nico, all he wanted to talk about was you. Admittedly, I’m a little upset he didn’t want to know about how _I_ was doing, but…” Grover’s voice trailed off as he noticed something. “You’re smiling.”

The slight expression faded from Annabeth’s face as quickly as it had appeared. “It was funny,” She said, her voice almost impossibly hoarse.

 Grover placed a hand on Annabeth’s shoulder. “You need food. Water. He wouldn’t want you to waste away like this.”

She nodded slowly and reached for the bowl of food, placing Percy’s pen on the bed beside her. She picked up the bowl and brought it up to her lap. She ate slowly, Grover watching her the entire time, as if to make sure that she wasn’t faking it. She finished it, and sat the empty bowl down beside her.

Grover smiled softly. “Feel any better?”

Annabeth shrugged. “I don’t feel any worse at least.”

“I mean, that’s something, right?” he said. A shadow crossed his face as he remembered something. He shifted uncomfortably. “Oh. Right. Nico… when he came back he…” Grover’s voice trailed off as he retrieved something from the pocket of his shorts. He held it up so Annabeth could see. It was a small folded up piece of golden paper. “Percy wouldn’t take no for an answer. So, this… is for you.”

Annabeth took the piece of paper and slowly unfolded it, her hands shaking. The writing on it was scrawled hastily, and was so messy it was difficult to read, but she deciphered it without too much trouble. Being as familiar as she was with the handwriting’s owner made it easier.

_Hey, Wise Girl._

_I’m waiting for you._

_Also, I **did** make it to Elysium._

_Make sure you do too._

The paper fell to the bed.

Tears fell after it, staining the paper as sobs began to wrack Annabeth’s body. She buried her face in her hand.

"Annabeth," Grover started.

“Go,” she said.

“What?”

“Please, just leave.”

Grover looked like he was about to say something, but closed his mouth and nodded slowly. He rose from the bed and walked over to the door. He opened it and paused.

“Look, if you need anything, you know we’re here for you.”

He gave her one final sympathetic look and left.

Annabeth remained motionless on the bed, still clutching Percy’s beads.

The letter had just made it real. Percy was gone.

And she was alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me? writing Percy Jackson angst at 1 AM while procrastinating? it's more likely than you'd think.   
> But yeah, I figured it was fair, after the last chapter, to give Annabeth a chance to mourn. I've got an idea or two for a couple more chapters, so that may be something I do in the future. As always, please leave a comment if you enjoyed it or if you think there's anything I should improve on.


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